22 April 2011

When I worked for The Nature Conservancy every day was Earth Day. So this day was just like any other. Now it is Earth Day and it seems a tad precious, a bit outdated.

Not to my daughter, who reminded me this morning that it was Earth Day and that it's a good thing we recycle. (I didn't have the heart to tell her what I learned from the folks at Glass Recycling Technologies: that of the 12 million tons of glass in the US waste stream annually, over 9 million tons end up in landfills.)

The "Promise" in the book's subtitle has largely been unfulfilled and Madrigal shows how and why.

The book traces green technology back to before the start of the 20th century, to the late 1800s, when the first oil discoveries were made in Pennsylvania, water-pumping windmills dotted the landscape of the Midwest, wave energy schemes were floating off the California coast, and electric taxicabs transported Manhattanites across town.

Powering the Dream is a history of failure and optimism, which is to say, a book about entrepreneurism in America. Green technology breeds a distinctive American brand of entrepreneur -- messianic, full of hubris, and, well, sometimes just plain crazy.

Madrigal is a good storyteller and this book is full of compelling characters, including John Etlzer who wrote the book on harnessing nature's powers for human purpose in the 1830s; Arnold Goodman, the visionary behind Luz (now BrightSource), the solar thermal company that has its origins in the 1970s; George Keck, who popularized the "solar home" of the 1950s; and G.P. "Put" Putnam, scion of the publishing family and developer of the first megawatt wind turbine erected in Vermont in the 1940s. (Yes, the 1940s.)

Writing about solar hot water heaters, which had its American heyday in the 1930s, Madrigal notes that by the 2000s, "A technology invented and improved in the United States is a dim memory here and a thriving industry elsewhere." Sadly, this sentence could have ended many of the chapters about technologies in Madrigal's book.

Madrigal understands that two things that have prevented green technology from powering America: lack of money and short-term thinking that predates our contemporary politics and economy.

Ultimately, however, Powering the Dream is a hopeful book. Madrigal surmises that in learning about the many miscues of our past, we may be able to avoid repeating them in the future. And perhaps, at last, green technology will live up to its promise.

12 April 2011

Yale Environment 360 reports on a new study in the journal Science,Global Trends in Wind Speed and Wave Height," suggests that wind speeds and wave heights have been rising. What does this mean for storms?

"Average wind speeds and wave heights have been rising on the world’s oceans over the last quarter century, a trend that could portend more intense storms, hurricanes, and cyclones, according to a new study. Using satellite altimeter data from 1985 to 2008, Australian researchers calculated that wind speeds increased 0.25 to 0.5 percent per year, and overall had increased 5 to 10 percent during that time.

"The most pronounced increases were observed during extreme wind events — in comparison with mean conditions — which increased about 0.75 percent annually, according to the study, published in the journal Science. Ian Young, a professor at the Australian National University at Canberra and lead author of the study, said it is unclear whether it is a temporary phenomenon or the result of global climate change, although he added, 'If we have oceans that are warming, that energy could feed storms, which increase wind speeds and wave heights.'"

08 April 2011

One of the benefits of the work I do is going to or hosting investment forums and conferences where some amazing companies get to present. It's also one of the drawbacks, as it impacts my blogging and writing about the events in a timely manner.

Geothermal energy production could triple over the next few years, expanding its reach from nine to 15 states, according to a report released this week by the Geothermal Energy Association (GEA). Renewable Energy World explains: US Geothermal Industry Expands with New Capital, Government Support

Waste Management is trying to turn garbage into gold, according to an article in CNET by Martin Lamonica, by investing "in technology start-ups in an effort to get electricity, chemicals, or liquid fuels from municipal solid waste. Already, the company generates two to three times more energy than the entire solar industry." Waste Management CEO Places Energy Bets

(Disclosure: I hold a long position in ORA. This post is for informational purposes only and is neither intended to be investment advice nor an offer, or the solicitation of any offer, to buy or sell any securities.)

If you're like me you've probably thought that parking lots in corporate and commercial office parks are an untapped opportunity for solar electricity generation.

Solaire has a simple and elegant solution and, yesterday, the company announced it has completed the largest corporate parking lot project, 3.6 megawatts, in the country for a Fortune 100 corporate office campus in central New Jersey.

According to a company spokesperson, Solaire's parking canopy supports more than 210,000 square feet of solar panels, 3.6 MW, and covers more than 1,300 parking spaces. The total system is made up of 25 structures, each with an average length of 200 feet and a 35-foot wingspan.

Unlike other parking canopies I've seen, including those from San Diego's EnvisionSolar and New Jersey's SunDurance Energy, Solaire's panels form a contiguous canopy and have a dual-incline design generating electricity equal to the annual energy consumption of 340 U.S. households.

This 1.1 MW installation covers 450 parking spots.

And, as pointed out by the company's reps, the canopies offer an integrated decking and gutter system that protects people and cars from snow and ice.

They fail to mention the canopy also provides shade on sunny days, which makes for a cool solution.

01 April 2011

No, the infographic above is not an April Fool's joke. It comes from Seth Godin and compares deaths per terawatt hour of energy produced by nuclear, oil, and coal. The data comes from the World Health Organization.

We found several interesting pieces on nuclear energy over the past week:

Derek Scissors, a research fellow on Asian economic policy at the Heritage Foundation, writing on Steve LeVine's Foreign Policy blog, explains why he expects China won't move off coal any time soon: Coal From Here to Eternity.

The BBC reported on a new Royal Society study that indicates China will overtake the US in science by 2013: China Syndrome.

About The Green Skeptic

Scott Edward Anderson is the founder of the popular
blog, The Green Skeptic. A cleantech investor and
entrepreneur, he founded VerdeStrategy, and is currently a director with EY's (Ernst & Young) global power & utilities group. Scott has held management positions with Ashoka and The Nature
Conservancy and is co-founder of the Cleantech Alliance Mid-Atlantic.An award-winning poet, Scott is the author of FALLOW FIELD (2013) and WALKS IN NATURE'S EMPIRE (1995). He was a John
Sawhill Conservation Leadership Fellow, a Senior Fellow with the Environmental
Leadership Program, and a frequent commentator on Fox Business Network's Varney & Company.

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